The Blazers late Wednesday night hired McMillan, who led the SuperSonics to the Northwest Division title this past season. He will be introduced Thursday at a news conference, the Blazers said in a statement.

McMillan's contract with the Sonics expired Thursday and the Blazers aggressively pursued him.

"We are feeling a mixture of pride in his accomplishments as the head coach of the Sonics and sorrow that he will not be a part of our organization going forward," Sonics president and CEO Wally Walker said in a statement. "Our last compensation discussion detailed a proposal that on average would have made Nate one of the five highest paid active NBA coaches. While we made him a fair offer, we in no way begrudge Nate's ability to earn more than we could offer."

McMillan was believed to be the Blazers' No. 1 choice all along, with the team also talking to former Blazers player and Bucks ex-coach Terry Porter and Phoenix assistant Marc Iavaroni.

The Blazers appeared close to offering the job to Iavaroni in late June, with the caveat that they first wanted a shot at luring McMillan away from the SuperSonics. The New York Times reported Sunday that Portland is offering McMillan an annual salary of $6 million.

McMillan replaces interim coach Kevin Pritchard, who took over from the fired Maurice Cheeks when the Blazers embarked on a youth movement in midseason.

McMillan had coached the Sonics since Nov. 27, 2000 and compiled a 212-193 record.

mmmfast

07-07-2005, 02:55 AM

Didn't he get offerd about 4mil per from Seattle?
I know they resigned Allen but 2million more annually is hard to pass up.

dirt_dobber

07-07-2005, 08:04 AM

I know Ray Allen really liked Nate. Has anyone read or heard his thoughts about this.